A St. Patrick's Day tribute to the Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, PA

As early as 1827, its parishioners were meeting in each other's homes. By 1838, they had moved into their first real church structure - a log cabin, and then on to building a conventional church. This structure would serve the parish well, but would last only fifty-three years, when it was torn down to make room for the larger limestone exterior Church of St. Patrick that still stands today.

I wrote about the history of the parish previously within my article Coal region Catholics: The story of Pottsville's Church of St. Patrick. There was no shortage of photographs of the current church for me to choose from, and I decided to use some that I had taken myself during my visit to Pottsville the previous year. I was particularly interested, however, to see the church building that had served the parish from 1838 to 1891, since my family had arrived in the area in 1840 and so many of the rites of passage of those early ancestors and their families and friends had taken place in that church.

Church of St. Patrick, Pottsville, 1838-1891
(This church was torn down to make way for the current structure)

I was able to find and include a photo of the 1838 church's exterior within my article (see above), but what I really wanted was to see the inside - the interior of the church in which my great-great-great-grandparents had stood when they baptized their children, the place that was the center of family worship - where they prayed at Mass each Sunday, where they said their final goodbyes at Requiem Masses prior to making the walk up the hill to St. Patrick's Cemetery to bury loved ones who had passed.

I was thrilled when I discovered that there was, indeed, a photograph of the interior of that second Church of St. Patrick! The photo, dated sometime in the 1880s, was taken by renowned "photographer of the mines" George M. Bretz who worked in Pottsville from 1870 to the year of his death in 1895. His photographic images of the interior of the second Church of St. Patrick along with many photos of Schuylkill County mines and other scenes, can be found online within the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) Digital Collection. (Start at the landing page for the George Bretz Collection if you are interested in viewing these images.)

Below is the interior of the Church of St. Patrick as it looked sometime during the 1880s. It is a beautiful church and the parishioners must have been sad to see it torn down, despite having a new, larger and also beautiful church built on its site.

It was before this altar in the second Church of St. Patrick that my great-great-grandparents Margaret Foley and William Cowhey were married in 1878. It was a second marriage for William, age 43 (who had lost his wife Catherine to consumption, and brought five children into his second marriage with Margaret). The young bride, at age 21, was embarking on a life as a mother to William's first five children and later ten more of their own.

I was very happy to find the details of William and Margaret's marriage within William's Civil War pension file. Among the many pages within this file (circa 1890s), was a Record Proof of Marriage of Widow to Soldier. Signed by then pastor Rev. F. J. McGovern, it attested to the extract from the registry of St. Patrick's Church indicating that William and Margaret had been married by Rev. A.J. Gallagher on February 23, 1878, witnesses Maurice Ryan and Clara Kitchen. This is a true family treasure, particularly since the church itself has been unable to provide access to the listing of this couple's marriage within their registry. Below is the page documenting that day 137 years ago when my great-great-grandparents were joined in marriage at the altar of the second Church of St. Patrick in Pottsville.

William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

Marriage at a Glance

• Married: 23 February 1878 at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA 
• Children of William and Catherine (Regan) Cowhey: Anna (b. 1866), Margaret, (b. 1868) William F. (b. 1871), John J. (b. 1874), Richard (b. 1876)
• Children of William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey: Mary (b. 1878), Ellen (b. 1880), Elizabeth (b. 1881), Thomas (b. 1883), Ambrose (b. 1884), Clara (b. 1886), Charles (b. 1887), Blanche (b. 1889), Lena (b. 1891), Isabella (b. 1892)
• Duration of Marriage: 14 years ending at William's death on 17 November 1892

William Cowhey

1834-1892
Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: William Cowhey
• Parents: Patrick and Ann Cowhey
• Siblings: John (1832-1836), William (1834-1892), Ann (1837-1864), Ellen (1840-1898), Thomas (1842-1899), Elisabeth (1844-1845), Johanah (1844-1846), John (1846-1920), Michael (1846-1855) 
• Born: 29 April 1834 in New York City, NY
• Died: 17 November 1892 in Cressona, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 58*
• Buried: St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA

Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

1855-1912

Life at a Glance

• Name at birth: Margaret Foley
• Parents: Patrick Foley and Margaret Graham
• Born: 10 August 1855 in Port Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA
• Died: 5 October 1912 in Mount Carbon, Schuylkill Co., PA at age 57
• Buried: St. Patrick's No. 3 Cemetery, Pottsville, Schuylkill Co., PA

More here at Small-leaved Shamrock
about William and Margaret (Foley) Cowhey

William

• A horrifying end a hero's farewell, November 1892*
• 150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War
• On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."
• Civil War 150: The Cowhey brothers volunteer for the Union
• The 1892 Pottsville train explosion: How and why?*
• Crossing the Potomac with William: A soldier's story
• Riding the rails: The life and death of William Cowhey*

Margaret

• Mother to 15, Widow at 38: My discovery of the photograph of my quietly heroic great-great-grandmother 
• Family treasure at the National Archives: 19th-century birth records and more
• Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895*

This article is included as part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge organized by Amy Johnson Crow. The theme for Week 11, in which this article falls, is "Luck of the Irish". [Note: Hat tip to Donna Pointkouski of What's Past is Prologue for the summary format I've used at the end of this article.] Find more stories of my family's ancestral churches visit my Churches of My Ancestors Pinterest board.

"Clearing the Wreck: Around the Scene of the Locomotive Explosion", November 15, 1892

News traveled fast in 1892 of the train engine explosion that killed my great-grandfather. By the next day, details of the accident were published in the New York Times and various other city newspapers throughout the country. Yet, the most detailed coverage can be found within the local paper: the Pottsville Daily Republican.

Two weeks ago on the 121st anniversary of this horrible accident, I published an article describing the event and sharing details of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey's funeral, which was fit for a hero. Within this article and one last Monday, I have shared with Small-leaved Shamrock readers the two articles that appeared within the Pottsville Daily Republican two consecutive days after the accident. I have transcribed them for easier reading. This second article appeared on page 1 of the paper on Tuesday, November 15.

The Pottsville Daily Republican ran this article on page 1 the day after the accident, Tuesday, November 15, 1892. The three scans above overlap slightly, but by enlarging them you can read the text of the full article which I've also transcribed below.

CLEARING THE WRECK 

Around the Scene of the Locomotive Explosion. 

AWAITING DOBBIN'S RECOVERY! 

The Inquest Will Not Be Held Until He Is Able to Testify - His Conditions Improving Slightly - Particulars Coming Out Slowly. 

John Day, a well preserved man of over 70 years of age who ran an engine for over thirty years and has worked on the railroad ever since [1862?], was the watchman on duty Sunday night where the engine exploded on the Reading railroad, at Conner's, a small station three miles south of here, whereby five men were killed outright and one very probably fatally scalded. Day says it was 12:15 when engine 563 pulled up and stopped just south of his watch-box, where the wagon road between Cressona and Schuylkill Haven crosses the railroad, and sorted out a long string of cars onto the side track. Owing to difficulty experienced in getting out some bent coupling pins they laid there fully twenty minutes, after which they started north again for Palo Alto with the balance of the train but they had trouble starting and they made very poor headway, and he judges that they had allowed the steam to run down. They made several starts and stops before they could get by his place, and when they had gone beyond it a little over 100 yards, they stopped again, and immediately thereafter the explosion occurred. 

He was [?] stunned himself and greatly bewildered and when he was starting to go up to the head of the train, brakeman Dobbins came running to him with his clothes all afire and crying to him to help him extinguish the fire on his person. Day aided Dobbins in tearing off the burning clothes, afterwhich at his request he gave Dobbins some water with which he washed the dirt out of his eyes and from his face and hands. Dobbins said to him: "They are all killed; oh, see if you can't help Harry Allison." By this time men came running up from the Mine Hill junction dispatcher's office and the Schuylkill Haven railroad yards, and after sending out flagmen to stop all trains search was made for the victims of the catastrophe. Cowhey and Moyer were found on the south bound track just above his watch-box, where they had dropped after being blown against a wall of rock several hundred feet high. Engineer Allison and his fireman, Mackey, were found underneath the engine, and Kendricks, the conductor of the ill-fated crew, was blown several hundred yards into a field to the east of the tracks. Before the accident the engine was headed north, and by the force of the explosion it was turned upside down the tracks on top and heading to the south, virtually making a back somersault to the east of the track. The cylinder head and front of engine were a hundred feet still further south. 

The explosion occurred directly beneath the long iron bridge of the Lehigh Valley and Schuylkill railroad which crosses the Pennsylvania railroad, turnpike, canal, the junction railroad river, valley and Reading tracks at a height of about 50 feet. This bridge was not injured in the least. 

The bodies of the victims were gathered together and taken into Day's watch-box and after being viewed by the Coroner were sent to their late homes. The faces of all but one were unrecognizable and their identity was disclosed by the clothing and bodily appearances alone. 

At six o'clock last evening all evidences of the wreck had been cleared away excepting the frame of the immense boiler and fire box, which was lying along-side the track. Company officials were early on the ground and thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain late yesterday afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. 

On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water as the iron is badly burned to a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. Friends and all railroad men, after seeing this, acknowledge that there was no other cause. It is thought that in the excitement in trying to get the bent coupling pins out and shorten the delay on the siding as much as possible, that unintentionally the water was allowed to get low. 

Day says that Dobbins told him that when the engine stopped, at Allison's request, he had got down on the tank to get a bucket of water with which to extinguish a fire that had started on the jacket, and that Allison had just started his pumps. 

THE VICTIMS.

Harry C. Allison, the engineer of No. 563, was a native of Panther Valley, a short distance west of Cressona, where he was born about 44 years ago. He early went to railroading, and was one of the most careful of the many engineers in the employ of the company. He was a Union soldier during the Rebellion, and was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., and Seneca Tribe No. 41, I.O.R.M. he leaves a widow and a married daughter, the wife of Bert Nimbleton, to mourn his loss. His only son was buried a little over a week ago. His funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon from his late residence, 606 Bacon Street, Palo Alto. 

Charles J.C. Mackey, fireman, resided at Port Carbon. He was about 28 years of age, and leaves a widow and one small child. He was a prominent and active member of the following organizations: W.C, No. 134, P.O.S. of A; Grant Commandery, No. 36, P.O.S. of A; Golden Rule Castle, K. of P.; Schuylkill Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 27, and of the Port Carbon Band. He was the efficient secretary of the latter organization. 

Charles H. Kendrick was also a resident of Port Carbon, and was about 32 years of age. He, too, leaves a widow and four small children to mourn his loss. He was the conductor of the ill-fated train.  

William Cowhey resided at Mt. Carbon, and was in his 59th year. He was twice married. Four grown up children blessed by that union survive him. His second wife he leaves a widow, with eight small children ranging from 14 years to an infant of but a few months old to mourn his sudden death. The deceased was a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. 

William H. Moyer is a native of Summit Station, on the S. and S. R.R., where he was born about twenty-six years ago. He engaged as a railroader about five years ago and removed to Palo Alto three years after accepting the employment as fireman. He leaves a widow and two small boys, aged 4 years and 19 months respectively. His funeral will take place on Wednesday. Interment will be made at Summer Mountain cemetery. He was a member of the Summit Station Lodge of the I.O. of O.F. 

THE SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION. 

The explosion occurred immediately under the overhead bridge of the L. and S. V. railroad. The engine 563 was of the L class, which are used to draw freight. Although she was running north the force was so great that she was lifted completely from her frame and turned southward, in the opposite direction. Everything about her has been shivered to pieces and she was, to use a "railroaders" term, "turned completely inside out." The railroad track for a short distance was also torn up. It is truly wonderful when the wrecked condition of the engine is taken into consideration that the bodies of the victims were not more badly mutilated. Excepting Cowhey and Moyer, whose bodies and faces were somewhat battered, the others were not so badly mangled or defaced. 

THE CORONER AT THE SCENE. 

At four o'clock this morning, Deputy Coroner, Dr. H.G. Weist, of Schuylkill Haven, was aroused and immediately summoned a jury. The Coroner B.C. Gulgin, also appeared as early as possible and they with the jury viewed the scene of the accident. No testimony will be taken for a day or so to await the condition of the injured man, Michael Dobbins. 

The jury consists of Messrs. Hock, Fry, Greisinger, Jones, Brown and Brennan.  

The steam crane which is used to remove debris and other material in the event of a collision or any other accident on the railroad, was broken a few days ago, and the wreck crew was therefore very much hampered in removing the wreck. The wreckers under Yardmaster Wm. Sabold worked very faithfully notwithstanding their great drawback. 

A THEORY 

The Reading railroad has been very unfortunate during the past year, with the number of explosions of locomotives which have occurred. One old railroader this morning assigned the following as the prime cause why these engines have exploded. He said in substance the crews are compelled to run their engines at a very high pressure to draw the very heavy trains which are put behind them for the past year. That to keep up the great pressure of steam and the quantity used the fires are forced and the exterior of the boilers are burned out, and something must give way, he added.

This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of Amanuensis Monday, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to the transcription of important documents such as this newspaper article detailing the accident that took William Cowhey's life.

"Terrific Explosion! Another Reading Locomotive Blown Up", November 14, 1892

News traveled fast in 1892 of the train engine explosion that killed my great-grandfather. By the next day, details of the accident were published in the New York Times and various other city newspapers throughout the country. Yet, the most detailed coverage can be found within the local paper: the Pottsville Daily Republican.

Last week on the 121st anniversary of this horrible accident, I published an article describing the event and sharing details of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey's funeral, which was fit for a hero. Within this article and an upcoming one next week, I would like to share with Small-leaved Shamrock readers the two articles that appeared within the Pottsville Daily Republican two consecutive days after the accident. I have transcribed them for easier reading. This first article appeared on page 1 of the paper on Monday, November 14.

The Pottsville Daily Republican ran this article on page 1 the day of the accident, Monday, November 14, 1892. The three scans above overlap slightly, but by enlarging them you can read the text of the full article which I've also transcribed below.

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION! 

Another Reading Locomotive Blown Up. 

FIVE OLD RAILROADERS KILLED! 

Another Fatally Injured - Gathering Up the Mutilated Remains - Sketch of the Victims - A Big Loss Entailed Upon the Company - Details of the Occurrence. 

It is our sad duty today to chronicle another explosion of a locomotive of the Philadelphia and Reading railroad company, which occurred this morning near Conner's Crossing, about three miles south of this place in which five strong able bodied men were blown into eternity, and one seriously if not fatally scalded. 

The ill fated engine was known as one of the L class and was No. 563. 

The killed are the following: 

HENRY C. ALLISON, of Palo Alto, aged 44 years; married, leaving a widow and a married daughter; engineer of the ill-fated engine. 

CHARLES J. C. MACKEY, of Port Carbon, aged 28 years; married, leaving a widow and one small child; fireman of the ill-fated engine. 

CHARLES H. KENDRICK, of Port Carbon, aged 32 years; married, leaving a widow and four small children; conductor. 

WILLIAM COWHEY, of Mt. Carbon, aged 59 years; married, leaving a widow and twelve children. Engineer of locomotive No. 73. 

WILLIAM H. MOYER, of Palo Alto, aged 26 years; married, leaving a widow and two small children; fireman of engine No. 73. 

The injured man is: 

MICHAEL DOBBINS 

of Mt. Carbon, single. Badly scalded, and unconscious. 

The ill-fated engine, with a large draught of empty cars and manned by Engineer Allison and Fireman Mackey, were on their way from Port Richmond for Palo Alto, and after arriving near the overhead bridge of the Lehigh and Schuylkill Valley R.R., a short distance this side of Conner's Crossing, the locomotive exploded with the above horrifying results. 

THE CAUSE A MYSTERY. 

It is difficult, yes, impossible, at this time, if it ever can be done, to give the true cause of this very disastrous explosion. Michael Dobbins, the only surviving witness up to noon, lay suffering and unconscious at the residence of his parents at Pinedale or East Mt. Carbon. The attending physician regards his condition so critical that he has placed the patient under chloroform to alleviate his sufferings and has refused any to see him excepting those in attendance upon him.  

Persons who were in close proximity, however, say that the train stood still at the time because the engine had run out of steam. The blower had been put on to accelerate her steaming up and it was during this process that the boiler exploded. Dobbins alighted prior thereto and evidently it was to this cause that he escaped being hurled into the future, as were the rest of his more unfortunate companions.  

Cowhey and his fireman, Moyer, had just returned from a trip from Reading, for which place they left about 10 o'clock yesterday morning. They had, shortly prior to the accident, taken their engine, No. 73, and placed it into the round-house at Cressona. After their return trip, and, as was their custom, they went to the office at Schuylkill Haven to board the first engine north bound, so that they could ride to their respective homes, which they, however, never reached alive. Their bodies, with the other victims, now lie cold in death, with the bereaved widows and orphans gathered about their biers, whose only support and heads of families have gone forever. The scene is heartrending. 

THE VICTIMS.

Harry C. Allison, the engineer of No. 563, was a native of Panther Valley, a short distance west of Cressona, where he was born about 44 years ago. He early went to railroading, and was one of the most careful of the many engineers in the employ of the company. He was a Union soldier during the Rebellion, and was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., and Seneca Tribe No. 41, I.O.R.M. He leaves a widow and a married daughter, the wife of Bert Nimbleton, to mourn his loss. His only son was buried a little over a week ago. His funeral will take place on Thursday afternoon from his late residence, 606 Bacon Street, Palo Alto. 

Charles J.C. Mackey, fireman, resided at Port Carbon. He was about 28 years of age, and leaves a widow and one small child. He was a prominent and active member of the following organizations: W.C, No. 134, P.O.S. of A; Grant Commandery, No. 36, P.O.S. of A; Golden Rule Castle, K. of P.; Schuylkill Lodge, I.O.O.F., No. 27, and of the Port Carbon Band. He was the efficient secretary of the latter organization. 

Charles H. Kendrick was also a resident of Port Carbon, and was about 32 years of age. He, too, leaves a widow and four small children to mourn his loss. He was the conductor of the ill-fated train.  

William Cowhey resided at Mt. Carbon, and was in his 59th year. He was twice married. Four grown up children blessed by that union survive him. His second wife he leaves a widow, with eight small children ranging from 14 years to an infant of but a few months old to mourn his sudden death. The deceased was a soldier on the Union side in the late rebellion, and a prominent member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R. 

William H. Moyer is a native of Summit Station, on the S. and S. R.R., where he was born about twenty-six years ago. He engaged as a railroader about five years ago and removed to Palo Alto three years after accepting the employment as fireman. He leaves a widow and two small boys, aged 4 years and 19 months respectively. His funeral will take place on Wednesday. Interment will be made at Summer Mountain cemetery. He was a member of the Summit Station Lodge of the I.O. of O.F. 

THE SCENE OF THE EXPLOSION. 

The explosion occurred immediately under the overhead bridge of the L. and S. V. railroad. The engine 563 was of the L class, which are used to draw freight. Although she was running north the force was so great that she was lifted completely from her frame and turned southward, in the opposite direction. Everything about her has been shivered to pieces and she was, to use a "railroaders" term, "turned completely inside out." The railroad track for a short distance was also torn up. It is truly wonderful when the wrecked condition of the engine is taken into consideration that the bodies of the victims were not more badly mutilated. Excepting Cowhey and Moyer, whose bodies and faces were somewhat battered, the others were not so badly mangled or defaced. 

THE CORONER AT THE SCENE. 

At four o'clock this morning, Deputy Coroner, Dr. H.G. Weist, of Schuylkill Haven, was aroused and immediately summoned a jury. The Coroner B.C. Gulgin, also appeared as early as possible and they with the jury viewed the scene of the accident. No testimony will be taken for a day or so to await the condition of the injured man, Michael Dobbins. 

The jury consists of Messrs. Hock, Fry, Greisinger, Jones, Brown and Brennan.  

The steam crane which is used to remove debris and other material in the event of a collision or any other accident on the railroad, was broken a few days ago, and the wreck crew was therefore very much hampered in removing the wreck. The wreckers under Yardmaster Wm. Sabold worked very faithfully notwithstanding their great drawback. 

A THEORY 

The Reading railroad has been very unfortunate during the past year, with the number of explosions of locomotives which have occurred. One old railroader this morning assigned the following as the prime cause why these engines have exploded. He said in substance the crews are compelled to run their engines at a very high pressure to draw the very heavy trains which are put behind them for the past year. That to keep up the great pressure of steam and the quantity used the fires are forced and the exterior of the boilers are burned out, and something must give way, he added.

This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of Amanuensis Monday, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to the transcription of important documents such as this newspaper article detailing the accident that took William Cowhey's life.

A horrifying end and a hero's farewell, November 1892

He was only fifty-eight years old, but some would argue that he had already led a full life. Born on April 29, 1834 to Irish immigrant parents Patrick and Ann Cowhey in New York City, William Cowhey had spent the latter part of his childhood in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania. He worked on the canals until the Civil War broke out, then served along with his younger brother Thomas as one of the initial three-month volunteers for the Union in Schuylkill County's Company I, 16th Regiment. Following this short term, he re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery and served for most of the duration of the war, seeing action in the 2nd Battle of Winchester. After his discharge, William became a prominent member of the G.A.R. veterans' organization (Grand Army of the Republic) for the duration of his life.

After the war, William married Catherine Regan. The couple had five children before Catherine's untimely death from consumption in the lungs in October 1876. As a 44-year-old widower with five young children, William was quick to marry again. He and 22-year-old Margaret Foley wed in St. Patrick's Church of Pottsville on February 28, 1878. They went on to have ten children of their own. William supported his family by working for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad.

By the year 1892, William Cowhey had worked his way up from fireman to engineer. In the dark just after 2 a.m. on November 14, 1892, he had just hopped aboard another engineer's engine no. 563 in Cressona to get home to Mount Carbon after his shift had finished when two minutes into the ride the train's boiler exploded as they passed through Conner's Crossing just north of Schuylkill Haven. The horrifying blast sent William and four other railroad men to their deaths (with one more later dying from his injuries). William was killed instantly as his body was thrown onto rocks and according to the newspaper report, all of his bones were broken.

The accident was written up in local newspapers and city papers throughout the nation, including the November 15, 1892 New York Times (which I've transcribed here).

For details on the possible cause of the accident, see The Pottsville train explosion: How & why?. Though its passengers did not, Philadelphia and Reading engine no. 563 survived the blast. Here is its photograph circa 1930s (it's wooden cab was replaced by a metal cab):

Thanks to Ronald Bailey for this photograph from the collection
of the archives of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

The accident occurred at Conner's Crossing, where a huge viaduct (trestle bridge) built in 1890 allowed Lehigh Valley Railroad train tracks to cross over the valley below where two other rail lines passed: the Pennsylvania Railroad on the west, and the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad on the east (on which engine no. 563 was travelling northward to Pottsville).

Conner's viaduct showing rail line passing below. Photographer William Rau.
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website. 

Conner's viaduct looking westward, 1953. Photographer Lew Hoy.
Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website. 

The huge viaduct was dismantled in 1953. The remains of one of the brick piers that formed the base of the structure still stands, perhaps a fitting monument to William Cowhey's life on the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad, and his death at its hand.

This surviving brick pier of the Conner's Crossing viaduct was part of the east side
of the great structure. It is located in what is now the parking lot of the Cressona Mall
on Route 61. Photo thanks to Jim Bohrman's Lehigh Valley Railroad, Pottsville Division website.

~

The day after the explosion, November 15, 1892, the Pottsville Daily Republican ran the following announcement of William Cowhey's upcoming funeral. I have transcribed it below.

"The funeral of William Cowhey, who was killed by the explosion at Connor's on Monday morning, will take place from his late residence, East Mt. Carbon, on Thursday morning at 9 o'clock, to proceed to St. Patrick's Church, where a Requiem High Mass will be celebrated at 10 o'clock. The deceased leaves a wife and twelve children to survive him. William Cowhey, the dead engineer, enlisted in the first three months' service in Co. I, 16th Regt., Capt. Joseph Anthony, and when his term of service expired re-enlisted in Battery L, Fifth U.S. Artillery, serving three years. He was a member of Gowen Post No. 23, G.A.R., who will attend his funeral."

Two days later, November 17, 1892, the Pottsville Daily Republican detailed William's farewell: a funeral deserving of a hero complete with distinguished guests from several states and members of the Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) as pall bearers.

"The funeral of William Cowhey, of East Mt. Carbon, one of the engineers killed on Monday morning by the explosion of locomotive 563 at Connors, took place this morning at 9 o'clock. A large delegation of Gowen Post and Guards was present as an escort to the remains. The funeral cortege proceeded to St. Patrick's church, where a Requiem High Mass was celebrated by Rev. W.A. Duffy, the rector of the church. The attendance was very large, including friends from New Haven, Conn.; New York and Washington, D.C. The pall bearers were: N.W. Buck, James Madison, Abraham Kuhn, Abraham Nagle, members of Gowen Post; James Vail and Matthew Kerber. The cortege was under the supervision of Commander Samuel Holmes of Gowen Post. The floral offerings consisted of an anchor, wreath and two sheaves of wheat. The interment was made in No. 3 cemetery."

It is hard for me to imagine the suffering endured by William's wife Margaret, his children, family and friends caused by such a horrific tragedy. It is heartening to see how the town came together to mourn his loss.

The report of the funeral that was published in the newspaper described the three floral offerings that decorated William's funeral: an anchor, a wreath and two sheaves of wheat representing the hope of eternal life. May God's peace be with the soul of my great-great-grandfather. Requiescat in pace, William Cowhey.

~

This article has been posted in honor of the 121st anniversary of William Cowhey's death on November 14, 1892. I have also shared it as part of Thriller Thursday, a Geneabloggers Daily Prompt dedicated to thrilling stories of our ancestors including accidents such as the one that took William Cowhey's life.

150 years ago today: William Cowhey sees his first action in the Civil War

"Everything was quiet [at Winchester] until Saturday the 13th of June 1863. The weather was fine and balmy. We wished we were at home to help the farmers plant corn; something else turned up."

Thus wrote Union private Lorenzo Barnhart of Company B, 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry. The "something else" that suddenly "turned up" for himself and his fellow Union soldiers is now known to history as the Second Battle of Winchester: a three-day conflict that resulted in a devastating loss for the greatly outnumbered Union forces. This was part of the Gettysburg campaign: the Confederate attempt to invade the north for the first time (and what would be the only time). The Confederates greatly outnumbered the Union boys in blue: about 19,000 to 6,900. By June 15, the Union forces had been routed, paving the way for what would become the infamous Battle of Gettysburg.

Virginia's town of Winchester was, according to the Encyclopedia of Virginia,
"the most contested town in the Confederacy during the American Civil War,
changing hands more than 70 times." (This drawing depicts Jackson's Confederate
Army in Winchester in 1861. The building is the Taylor Hotel which would later
serve as Union Army headquarters during the 2nd Battle of Winchester.) 

~

This weekend is the 150th anniversary of the Second Battle of Winchester, and it has special significance to me. My great-great-grandfather Private William Cowhey served for three years in the Union army within Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery. This battle was the first time his regiment saw action in the war, and it was not a pretty sight. When the three day skirmish was over, Confederate General Richard Elwell had lost only 270 of his 19,000 men, but had captured 300 wagons, hundreds of horses and twenty-three artillery pieces. The Union forces had lost close to 5,000 of their greatly outnumbered 6,900 men and the rest had been sent running for their lives.

Sketch of the 2nd Battle of Winchester by Jedediah Hotchkiss

It was a disgraceful moment for the Union. As a result of the defeat, Union General Robert Milroy was relieved of his command. The men under his charge had scattered in different directions, many of them heading to Gettysburg. There they would play a role in the most critical turning point of the war. Many would be numbered among the dead within that battle, which was to be the cause of more casualties than any other in the Civil War.

William Cowhey did not go on to fight at Gettysburg. Along with the other survivors from Battery L, 5th U.S. Artillery, he moved on to Camp Barry and served in the defense of Washington D.C. for a year from July 1863 to July 1864. Later he moved on to other action, including the Third Battle of Winchester (also known as the Battle of Opequan) in September 1864.

William Cowhey's "Declaration of Recruit" that he signed as
he enlisted in the Army's 5th Artillery at age 28 in January 1862.

~

Below are a few more excerpts about the Second Battle of Winchester from Private Lorenzo Barnhart's diary.

About Saturday, June 13, 1863 -

"We did not know what force was coming against us out on the Winchester and Strawberry Pike. We were ready for them. Our pickets engaged them. I was on the picket line myself. It was the first engagement we ever were in, and we seen how they fought. We matched them at their own game. They kept hid behind Cedar and Pine bushes and Field rock and stumps..." 

About Sunday, June 14, 1863 -

"...My company B of the 110th was sent to guard a battery of canons...Everything was quiet on Sunday the 14th. The boys were laying on the parapets in the sun. We came to the conclusion the confederates had all went to Church to get Religion, but they were only fixing to kill all of us. There was a pine mountain off about a quarter of a mile [to the west]. All at once, Oh! here came a shower of shot and shell. The boys tumbled off the parapets like turtles drop off a log into the water. The pine mountain fairly blazed with canon. They sent showers of shot and shells at us. We could not reach them with our small rifles. It seemed they let loose about 50 or 60 canons. [We] could do nothing to them. They shot our little guns wheels off, and upset them. Then they ceased firing off the pine mountain, and our officers gave us orders to fix bayonets and [get] our guns loaded, and watch over the fields in front of us. We would see the confederate infantry come out of the brush, out of a ravine. We would get to shoot only one shot, then use our bayonets and club with our guns. They came in desperate order. We gave them a volley low down in their legs. They dropped out of ranks. We made large gaps in their lines, but they did not stop for they closed the gaps shoulder to shoulder. They had been in such scraps before. They gave us a volley, then came onto us with bayonets and a yell like Indians..." 

To read more visit this webpage about the 110th Ohio Volunteer Infantry: Letters, Accounts, Oral Histories.

On this date in 1862: "I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear..."

It was on this date in 1862 (one-hundred and fifty-one years ago) that my great-great-grandfather enlisted in the U.S. Regular (Union) Army 5th Artillery. He (along with his brother Thomas) had served three months of volunteer service beginning in April of 1861. William Cowhey would go on to serve out this additional three-year term and receive an honorable discharge in 1865, about three months before the Civil War came to a close.

The document below (William's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862) is important to me for several reasons. Not only is it the document that set him off on his three years of service to the Union during one of the most trying times in our nation's history, but it has his personal signature, lists his place of birth, lists his occupation before the war, and also describes several of his physical features.

Before I had this document in my possession, I knew that William had been born in the state of New York, but could only guess that he might have been born in New York City. This provided confirmation.

I was also interested to learn that he had been employed as a boatman before his term of military service. After the war, the railroad was his employer.

It was also fun to see that he had the dark hair, light eyes, and short stature that are so common within this branch of my family tree. Now, if only I could find a Matthew Brady portrait of him!

William Cowhey's recruitment contract dated January 30, 1862 is part of his
Compiled Military Service Record from the collection of the National Archives
(Click to enlarge)

Here is the text of the recruitment contract as I have transcribed it:

"State of Pennsylvania" 

"Town of Pottsville" 

"I, William Cowhey, born in New York City in the State of New York aged twenty-eight years, and by occupation a boatman do hereby acknowledge to have voluntarily enlisted this thirtieth day of January 1862, as a soldier in the Army of the United States of America, for the period of three years, unless sooner discharged by proper authority: Do also agree to accept such bounty, pay, rations, and clothing, as are, or may be, established by law. And I, William Cowhey, do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the United States of America, and that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all their enemies or opposers whomsoever; and that I will observe and obey the orders of the President of the United States, and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to the Rules and Articles of War.  

"Sworn and subscribed to, at Pottsville Pa. this thirtieth day of January 1862 before A.V. [unsure of surname] Capt. 5th Arty. Rectg. Off.    William Cowhey [Signature of William Cowhey]

"I certify, on honor, that I have carefully examined the above named Recruit, agreeably to the General Regulations of the Army, and that in my opinion he is free from all bodily defects and mental infirmity, which would, in any way, disqualify him from performing the duties of a soldier. [signed] John I. [unsure of surname], Asst. [unsure of title] USA  

"I certify, on honor, that I have minutely inspected the Recruit, William Cowhey previously to his enlistment, and that he was entirely sober when enlisted; that, to the best of my judgment and belief, he is of lawful age; and that, in accepting him as duly qualified to perform the duties of an able-bodied soldier, I have strictly observed the Regulations which govern the recruiting service. This soldier has grey eyes, black hair, dark complexion, is five feet four inches high. [signed] H.V. [unsure of surname] Capt. 5th Arty. Recruiting Officer"

Key to Transcription

Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten
Red = not in record; my notes

Civil War 150: The Cowhey brothers volunteer for the Union

(Image credit - MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History)

Only days after President Lincoln's call to arms following the attack on Fort Sumter in April 1861, the men of Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania turned out in droves to offer their assistance.  The Cowhey brothers were among them: 21-year-old Thomas and his older brother William (Great-Great-Grampa to me), just a few days shy of his 27th birthday on April 29th.

In honor of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, I'll be following along with these two brothers - Thomas, who served only a short three months; and William, who re-enlisted and continued serving in the army throughout the duration of the war.

I hope you'll join me as we remember William's journey as he worked his way through those four trying years defending the Union. Here is one of the documents from his Civil War pension file.  It lists his date of enlistment as a volunteer and the date that he ended his three month period of service prior to re-enlisting.  You can click on the image of the document to view it up close.  I've also transcribed it below for easier reading.

War Department, Adjutant General’s Office
Washington, Aug 1, 1889.

Respectfully returned to the Commissioner of Pensions. William Cowy Jr., a Private of Company “I”, 16th Regiment Pa. Vols. Volunteers, was enlisted on the 26 day of April, 1861, at Harrisburg for 3 Mos. and is reported: on muster out roll of Co. dated at Harrisburg Pa. July 30/61 as mustered out at that date and place as Private. Also borne as William Cowey Jr. Return for May also Books of organization are not on file Muster in and out rolls only records on file No further information. Name of William Cowley is not borne

Key to Transcription:
Black = pre-printed on form
Blue = handwritten

As I mentioned above, these three months were only the very beginning for William.  His initial volunteer period would just help him to get his feet wet in the army.  Well, actually more than his feet.  If you read Thomas' account of their experience crossing the Potomac River at Williamsport, Maryland, you'll understand what I mean.  (More to come later on that story.)

In the meantime, stay tuned as I follow the path of my great-great-grandfather and his Union comrades 150 years ago.

Family treasure at the National Archives: 19th-century birth records & more

My great-great-grandparents William & Margaret (Foley) Cowhey had many children.  Prior to their marriage, William and his first wife also had several children.  I had the information from a handwritten family tree that I had been given by a distant cousin.  I hoped to sort out and confirm these names, birthdates and mother/child relationships with official birth records. 

At first my search was not easy.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health didn't have the information I was looking for.  Their records only went back to 1906.

I had no success either when I contacted the Schuylkill County Courthouse.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Pottsville, Pennsylvania surely had the information somewhere in their archives, but they wouldn't allow information requests for records of that age due to their fragility. (They had a parishioner who had been painstakingly transcribing those records, but he had passed away and no one had taken his place.)

I had heard of the existence of a Cowhey family Bible (possibly a good source for some of the information) but I had no idea if it had survived the second half of the 20th-century, and if it had, in whose home it might currently reside.

Ironically, it turned out that the records that I was looking for did not reside in Pennsylvania at all - at least not that I could find.  Like many Cowhey family descendants who had moved out of state, these birth records had also.  I found them (unfortunately after my original research visit) residing happily at the National Archives building in Washington D.C. within the Civil War pension (and widow's pension) file for William Cowhey and his wife Margaret (Foley) Cowhey.

You can imagine how happy I was when I received the envelope in the mail with copies of the documents in this file and found the one below.  As part of the paperwork filled out at the time of Williams' death on behalf of his wife Margaret was this Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age - a list of eight of their children's names, birthdates and baptism dates taken from the records and bearing the seal of St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

As I mentioned in Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret (Foley) Cowhey, William's untimely death had left his 37-year-old wife Margaret a widow and the sole caretaker for their eight youngest children.  The Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age within the pension file listed Margaret's living children from age fourteen down to eight months. (The couple's two eldest children were not covered by the pension, nor were the children of William Cowhey and his first wife.)

This primary source document was the first that I had found (besides U.S. census records) that validated some of the information in the handwritten Cowhey family tree that I had been given: a true family treasure.

*

The eight children listed within the Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age shown above are Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche and Isabella Cowhey, born 1881 to 1892. (The youngest, nicknamed Bella, would die a tragic death at a young age only two and a half years following William's death.)


Williams's Civil War pension file also included many other family treasures within its pages, including the handwritten account of he and his brother Thomas' night crossing the Potomac River in 1861. The account was written in Thomas' own handwriting in 1889 and is another one of the family documents that I treasure most.

*

In search of your own Civil War ancestors' pension file?  Check out the resources on this Genealogy Branches webpage to get started.  (Note: You might have to try several sources before you find your ancestors' index card. I finally found William Cowhey's on Footnote.  Try their Civil War & Later Veterans Pension Index to do your own search.)

Death comes in threes: The sorrows of Margaret Foley Cowhey, 1891-1895

Margaret Foley Cowhey was surely no stranger to the trials of motherhood. She and her husband had ten children. Before she gave birth to those children, she had become mother to at least four children from her husband's previous marriage.

Nothing, however, could have prepared this young woman, already such a seasoned mother at age 36, for the sorrows that faced her in three and half years during the early 1890s.

Margaret and her husband William Cowhey faced the loss of their youngest child Lena, age nine months, on October 7, 1891. The Pottsville Republican told the story the next day:


It states:

Lena, the infant daughter of William and Margaret Cowhey, of Mt. Carbon, died yesterday. The family have the sympathy of their neighbors at East Mt. Carbon. The interment will take place Friday afternoon at 2 o'clock.

*

Only a year later, William himself, a train engineer for the Reading Railroad, died tragically in a train engine boiler explosion that made headlines even in the New York Times:

Here is the text of the article:

FIVE KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION.
ENGINE ON THE READING RAILROAD TORN TO PIECES.

POTTSVILLE, Penn., Nov. 14.---On the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad at 2 o'clock this morning, at Conner's Crossing, a short distance north of Schuylkill Haven, the boiler of Mogul Engine No. 563 exploded, killing five men and probably fatally injuring another.

The killed are:
HENRY C. ALLISON, engineer, residing at Palo Alto; leaves wife.
WILLIAM MACKEY, fireman, Port Carbon; leaves wife and one child.
WILLIAM COWHEY, an engineer, on way home to Mount Carbon; leaves wife and ten children.
WILLIAM KENDRICK, conductor, of Port Carbon; leaves wife and four children.
WILLIAM MOYER, Cowhey's fireman, Palo Alto; single.
Michael Dobbins of Mount Carbon, a brakeman of Engineer Cowhey's crew, was badly scalded, and will probably die.

Engine No. 563 was north bound with a heavy train of empty cars. William Cowhey with his crew had brought up a train of empties, and, after running them into the Cressona yards, boarded Engine No. 563 at the Mine Hill Crossing with the intention of reaching their homes in that way, and as is customary took possession of the cab. Dobbins, who escaped instant death, was sitting on the tender.

The men had been on the engine barely two minutes when, without any warning, the terrible explosion occurred. The boiler and firebox were blown off the tracks, and the tracks were so badly damaged that traffic was considerably delayed. The north and south bound midnight Buffalo trains were compelled to run via the Little Schuylkill branch from Tamaqua to Port Clinton.

It is learned that the train had come to a standstill because of the lowness of steam and the blower had been on. It was during this process that the boiler exploded.

Company officials thoroughly examined into the cause of the accident, and this was made plain this afternoon when they loaded up the crown sheet and sent it to Palo Alto. On the crown sheet is unmistakable evidence that the explosion was caused by low water, as the iron is badly burned a deep blue color and the marks show just how high the water was. All railroad men after seeing this acknowledged that there was no other cause.

The New York Times, New York, NY 15 Nov 1892

(View the original article full size at The New York Times online archives.)

 *

William's untimely death left his 37-year-old wife Margaret a widow and the sole caretaker for eight children, according to Margaret's application for pension as widow of a Civil War veteran. The Record Proof of Births of Surviving Children of Soldier Under Sixteen Years of Age in William Cowhey's pension file (this document can be seen below - click to enlarge) includes the list of Margaret's living children from age fourteen down to eight months along with their birth and Baptism dates. (There were also two older children not covered by the pension.)

The children listed are Mary, Elizabeth, Thomas, Ambrose, Clara, Charles, Blanche and Isabella. The youngest was little Isabella, nicknamed Bella, whose death would bring great sorrow to her mother only two and a half years following William's death. 

*

I was shocked when I read the death register listing Bella's death that was sent to me at my request by the Schuylkill County Office of the Register of Wills. According to a handwritten family tree sent to me by a family member, I already had the estimated date of her death. When I read the information by Bella's name on the death register it took me a few moments to make sense of what I was reading.

Young Bella Cowhey had died on April 25, 1895 at the age of three years and two months. Cause of death according to the records: Burned. Duration of illness: Three days.

Not only had Margaret's youngest daughter suffered such a tragic and painful death, but her suffering and that of her family had been drawn out for three days - possibly the longest days of her poor mother's life. Below are copies of the death register. The information about Bella's death is highlighted in yellow and transcribed below. (Click on the image to enlarge it.)

Date of death: Apr 25, 1895
Place of death: N.E. Mannheim
Cause of death: Burned
Duration of illness: 3 days
Place of interment: No. 3 Cemetery
Date: Apr 27, 1895
Name of father: Wm Cowhey
Name of mother: Margaret Cowhey

Date of record: June 10, 1895
Name of deceased: Isabella Cowhey
Color: White
Sex: Female
Age: 3 yrs 3 mo
Place of birth: N.E. Mannheim

The document does not indicate additional details surrounding her death, besides Bella's place of burial. I can only imagine the circumstances that might have led to it. With so many children to care for and no longer a breadwinner in the family since her husband's death, Margaret must have been stretched incredibly thin as she struggled for the survival of her family.

Was one of her other children "on duty" at the time and tasked with watching young Bella? If so, how they must have been scarred for life as they relived the moment over the years. Regardless of how she was injured, the family suffered much, particularly Margaret, who had so recently grieved for her baby daughter Lena and for her husband William, and was struggling to provide for her family.

During the search for family history, there are those discoveries that provide a little bit of information, yet require much additional research to be made meaningful to the researcher. Then there are those documents or discoveries that shock our emotions and draw us back into time as we feel the sorrow and pain of those that have gone before us.

As a mother myself, I'm inspired by the story of my great-great-grandmother Margaret's life. Her sufferings help me to be thankful for the often overlooked blessings that each day holds, and inspire me to find strength for my own trials which pale in comparison to those that she suffered a little over one-hundred years ago.

Sources:
Lena Cowhey obituary, “Deaths and Funerals,” Pottsville Daily Republican, October 8, 1891, p. 4, col. 2.


“Five Killed by an Explosion: Engine on the Reading Railroad Torn to Pieces,” The New York Times, New York, New York, November 14, 1892, <http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9E05E3DE1638E233A25756C1A9679D94639ED7CF&oref=slogin> or <http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9E05E3DE1638E233A25756C1A9679D94639ED7CF>, accessed March 5, 2008.


William Cowhey, (Pvt., Co. I., 16th Pa. Inf. Civil War), pension no. 700,145, certificates no. 565,914 and 376,459 Case Files of Approved Pension Applications, 1861-1934; Civil War and Later Pension Files; Department of Veterans Affairs, Record Group 15. National Archives, Washington, D.C.

Pennsylvania. Schuylkill County. Record of Deaths, 1895. "Isabella Cowhey". Schuylkill County Office of the Register of Wills, Pottsville.

"Speeding to the front" in defense of the nation

Once more war's alarm is heard - the Government is shaken to its foundation, and now General Scott is called upon to save the Capital. Will the men of the North arise? Will they come to protect the nation? Yes, they spring forward to the fray and the veteran chieftain knows that thousands are rushing to his aid. The flower of the country are speeding to the front - but the first to meet his sight, the First Defenders appear, and two of the five companies are from Pottsville! Should any ask what town this is whose men have passed all others in the race, he would learn of a people who have already made history enough to fill a folio, and the story of whose energetic career would be the story of the anthracite coal trade.

This glowing description of the citizens of Pottsville was written in 1876 by George Chambers. His Historical Sketch of Pottsville: Schuylkill County, Pa. is interesting reading, particularly when you understand that Pottsville as a town had been in existence for less than a century at the time this history was written.

Among the First Defenders mentioned by Chambers, were two from the Cowhey family: William and Thomas. Part of their volunteer tour of duty (which lasted only three months) was a turn guarding the nation's capital.

Here is a partial description of the movements of Company I-16 according to Samuel P. Bates' History of Pennsylvania Volunteers, 1861-5:

Joining in the general forward movement, which commenced about the middle of June, the regiment proceeded to the Potomac, and on the 16th, crossed with the advance Division; but soon after returned and remained encamped near the river until the 2nd day of July.

Getting across the Potomac seems to have been quite an ordeal for the brothers. Having read Thomas' handwritten account of their crossing, I was very happy to find E.G. Arnold's 1862 map of the District of Columbia and the defenses surrounding and protecting it at the time.

Its official title is Topographical Map of the Original District of Columbia and Environs: Showing the Fortifications around the City of Washington. The publication of the map has an interesting story. The Alexandria Library website states that:

According to the Spring/Summer 2003 (Vol. 15, No. 1) issue of Washington History, two days after the map went on sale in various shops in 1862, the War Department confiscated most copies, as was the copper plate that was used to print the original maps. In addition, the Department obtained the names of purchasers and seized the maps from the homes of private citizens to prevent it from falling into Confederate hands insofar as the map identifies and locates 51 forts that defended Washington, D.C. during the Civil War.

Surviving copies of the map can now be found at the National Archives in College Park, Maryland (Cartographic & Architectural Section) in addition to the Alexandria Library in Virginia.

E.G. Arnold's pastel map is quite a work of art. It shows Washington, D.C.'s wards, watercourses and original boundary in addition to its various defenses circa 1862. It is a fascinating look back at a time when the nation's capital faced not armies of hot, summer tourists, but a more threatening force. Thanks to the defense of volunteers like the Cowhey brothers, the nation's capital remains as we know it today.

The 1892 Pottsville train explosion: How & why?

After reading about the work of steam engine firemen and engineers, I really enjoyed my recent ride as a passenger on a vintage train and my discussion with its engineer. One thing that I don't want to come close to experiencing, however, is the type of steam engine explosion that took the life of my great-great-grandfather William Cowhey. In fact, just reading about it is difficult enough. The newspaper accounts of the accident show what a sudden and extremely powerful explosion it was. I can't help but wonder about just what would cause an accident of this magnitude.

Now thanks to Ronald Bailey I have an insight into what might have caused that accident on the railroad back in 1892. Ronald Bailey is the President of the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania Advisory Council, an avid railroad historian, and a licensed steam locomotive engineer. He was able to provide me with an understanding of the technicalities of an explosion such as the one that Engine No. 563 experienced.

Here is his technical explanation of the workings of a pre-1900 steam engine and the possible causes of the type of explosion that killed William Cowhey and the rest of the crew and passengers of Engine No. 563:

A locomotive boiler explosion is usually caused by one of two factors - a defect in the boiler shell or the crew allowing the level of the water in the boiler to drop below the crown sheet of the firebox. In the 19th-century locomotive boilers were commonly made of cast iron rather than steel because steel was far more brittle. Cast iron was stronger than steel and more pliable without tearing. Unfortunately, cast iron could contain unseen inclusions and defects that could cause a failure. As metallurgical techniques improved better types of steel were developed and by the 1890’s almost all locomotive boilers were constructed using steel. Boiler defects were rarely the cause of a boiler explosion in locomotives built after 1900.

A locomotive boiler consists of a cylindrical boiler shell, fabricated of thick cast iron or steel. The boiler shell is thick enough to be able to resist the force of the steam, which, depending upon the locomotive, varied from 125 to 300 pounds per square inch. In 1892 a common boiler pressure was 160 to 180 pounds per square inch, and shell of the boiler was built to safely contain at least twice that pressure.

The steam in a boiler is produced by boiling water. The water is boiled by heat from a fire of wood, coal or oil. The fire is contained in a rectangular box that is placed inside the boiler at the back of the locomotive. To create additional heating surfaces a series of tubes or flues extend from the front of the firebox through the cylinder of the boiler to the front. The hot gasses from the fire are carried through the flues to be exhausted up the stack. The heat of the fire is conducted through the sheets that form the firebox and through the flues into the water, boiling the water and making steam. Most of the heat from the fire passes through the firebox sheets into the water.

This, however, created a problem. To be an effective conductor of the heat, which was necessary to boil the water, the firebox sheets needed to be as thin as possible. This made the sheets of the firebox too thin to be able to able resist being crushed by the tremendous pressure of the steam in the boiler. The solution was to use the strength of the much thicker outside sheets of the boiler shell to support the firebox. This was done by connecting the firebox sheets and the boiler shell with steel bolts, called staybolts. The staybolts conveyed the strength of the boiler shell to the firebox, preventing it from being crushed by the steam pressure. A space was left between the boiler shell and the firebox sheets, through which the staybolts passed, that was filled with water.

The added problem, however, is that the fire in a firebox burns at a temperature between 1,800 and 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit. This is hot enough to melt steel. In fact the only thing that keeps the fire from destroying the firebox of a steam locomotive is that the firebox is surrounded on all sides, except the bottom, by water, which absorbs the heat in the process of boiling and making steam.

Boilers were fitted with “try cocks” (three valves stack one on top of the other) that an engineer could use to check the level of the water. Most locomotives were also fitted with water glasses that displayed the water level.

As long as the water in the boiler was kept at a level that completely covered the firebox, everything worked fine. If, however, the water level was allowed to drop below the top of the firebox, which was called the crown sheet, the metal of the crown sheet would be subjected to the intense heat of the fire without any water to absorb the heat. This could cause the metal of the crown sheet to soften and begin to melt. As the metal softened the steam pressure could force the crown sheet to pull out of the thread of the staybolts. Without the support of the boiler shell through the staybolts, the crown sheet would deform and at some point of stress would crack or tear. This would suddenly create an opening that would allow all the steam and boiling water in the boiler to exhaust to the atmosphere. The almost instantaneous expansion of the steam from 150 to 180 pounds per square inch of atmospheric pressure produced a terrific force, which was usually violent enough to rip the firebox sheets and tear the entire locomotive boiler off of the locomotive frames. The effect was pretty much like a rocket taking off and exploding. Boilers were sometimes hurled hundreds of feet away.

Ronald Bailey goes on to extrapolate possible specific causes for the explosion of Engine No. 563 on November 14, 1892:

So what caused low water condition that created the boiler explosion that killed your great-grandfather?

The article from the New York Times says that Engineer Allison had just brought in a heavy train. It is possible that Allison had engaged in a dangerous practice used by some engineers of deliberately allowing the water level to drop to the bottom of the water glass (which was still a couple of inches above the crown sheet) in order to have more space in the boiler to generate steam to supply the engine when it was working hard. It may be that he miscalculated and allowed the crown sheet to become exposed to the fire without a covering of water.

It may also be that the locomotive boiler was foaming without the crew knowing it. The steam that is produced by a locomotive boiler is not recycled but is exhausted up the stack in order to produce a partial vacuum that would draw the hot gasses from the firebox through the boiler flues. Unfortunately, water is never pure, and it contains solids and sediments that are left behind as the water turns to steam. These materials can concentrate over time as more water is added to the boiler and then boiled away. The solids can collect on top of the water forming a film. As the water boils, the steam bubbles are trapped by the film, creating foam that can make it appear that the water level is higher than it really is. If the boiler was foaming, the crew might not have had any warning that the water level was dangerously low.

The article suggests that the steam pressure was low and that they stopped to build up the pressure. When the throttle was closed, the water level dropped, either because Engineer Allison had allowed it to be low or because the water was foaming, exposing the crown sheet, and setting off an explosion.

The article notes that the “blower” had been turned on. The blower on a steam locomotive is a valve that controls a jet of steam that is piped on the side of the steam nozzle directly under the stack. When the locomotive is not moving and there is no exhaust from the cylinders to create a partial vacuum, the blower can be opened to produce an artificial draft, thus drawing oxygen into the fire. The blower had no connection to the boiler exploding.

The following image shows the remains of a locomotive boiler that exploded on the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad in 1947—a larger and much more modern locomotive than the locomotive from 1892. You can see in the photograph the curved boiler shell, the flat sheets of the firebox, the staybolts that connected the firebox sheets to the boiler shell, and how the steel plates had been ripped apart by the force of the explosion.

A boiler explosion can be powerful enough to rip through steel plates, half an inch thick or more. An explosion can be so violent and so powerful as to rip a boiler off of a locomotive frame, and literally hurl the wreckage of the boiler through the air like a missile.

In the accompanying photograph, the remains of a locomotive after a boiler explosion are visible. The boiler has been torn from the locomotive frame, thrown through the air, and has landed upside down in a nearby field. The rear of the boiler, with the remains of the firebox, is on the left. The smoke box has been deformed and flattened. Strips of lagging are visible where the sheet metal jacketing has been torn loose.

Ronald Bailey currently works a couple of days a month as a steam engineer and fireman. As he states, his "top priority is always to keep the water level up".

After reading his thorough explanation of the ins and outs of steam engine operation and the risk of explosions, I can certainly see why. It may have been an oversight of this type that took the lives of William Cowhey and the other railroaders that night back in 1892.